#and they're topical today

[i-was-bored-so-this-happened]

Very important thing to note about the upcoming general election in the UK [4th July, register to vote now] that I was discussing with friends earlier today is that the set date feels very deliberately chosen, at least to us. In July, students [and others in that general age range] are between living places - either because they're moving from halls to a more permanent residence, or they're between residences, or they simply don't know where they will be living. Students are at home with family, under more pressure to vote a certain way and less likely to vote at all because of this. Young voices are less likely to be heard because of this. Young people who are voting for the first, second, or third time in their entire lives will find it more difficult to do so. Register to vote. Apply for a postal vote. Be heard.

[thatgirl4815]

Self-Destruction

Ray has defied expectations so many times in the last two episodes. Though he is certainly bratty and impulsive, he's also not nearly as bratty as I was inclined to believe before the series aired. This got me thinking about defense mechanisms, and the way Ray's persona could be curated to match the person he wants to be, not necessarily the one he sees himself as.

As evidenced by his reaction to waking up at Sand's place in Ep1, Ray's own sense of self is directly intertwined with wealth. I suspect he's lived his entire life in luxury; more importantly, he's lived with constant comments about this luxury from those around him (come to think of it, how many Ray scenes have there been so far where his wealth hasn't been mentioned?). I'd argue Ray's construction of self is tied up in his money too; he even tells Mew in Ep1 that the only thing he knows how to do with money is spend it. He knows how important money is to his image because there's no escaping it.

So when Sand references the financial disparity between them in Ep2, Ray surely expects it. But instead of growing defensive, we see Ray react to nearly every one of Sand's jabs with a laugh, even the ones that seem particularly targeted at his deepest struggles. Such as--

Ray isn't only a "spoiled, rich brat here"--he's "lonely," and that's the bit that we've seen reiterated throughout this episode. I'd wager it goes much farther back than the show itself, given the subtle references to it in Ep1 with his friend group (i.e., how when he's drunk he always begs them not to leave him). This could be a sign of abandonment issues, likely to do with his mother's death and his father's supposed lack of (emotional) involvement in his life (there's no proof of this yet, but I'd put money on it).

I think Ray has two go-to defenses. The first is alcohol. Understandably, this numbs him to any loneliness he might feel. The second is carelessness--more specifically, the impression of carelessness. There's this common notion that if one pretends to feel a certain way, they might actually begin to feel that way. The same could be said here. If Ray acts unbothered, then he can convince himself that he really is unbothered. The persona blurs with reality until they become one and the same.

Obviously there are consequences to each of these defenses. Alcohol can lead to dependency, creating a greater need that develops into alcoholism. Acting is also dangerous because it's a form of suppression--an attempt at persuasion. It's a desperate man's effort to convince himself he's fine. But this only leads all of one's bad feelings to fester deep inside and create an even larger hole.

The arguable third defense against Ray's loneliness is companionship, which he seeks out in Sand. This has its own risks, as Sand seems to understand, but Ray denies. Intimacy in all its forms is particularly dangerous for Ray because it could only breed more loneliness. If he forms a deep attachment to someone, that's only giving them more power over him later. The moment his control starts to slip is the moment his defense turns into a weapon to be used against him. Again, I suspect this has roots in his mother's death, leading to abandonment and attachment issues.

In terms of future eps, once Ray realizes the control that Sand has over him, I suspect he'll deny it and brush it off. At the same time, he'll need more of it (Sand really does say it perfectly in this last scene). Eventually, this back-and-forth will create an implosion.

[cquackity]

people talking about ghostbur like he's the only part of wilbur that deserves to live makes me see red. revivebur deserves to live pogbur deserves to live C!WILBUR DESERVES TO LIVE. there's this awful separation between ghostbur the "good" traumatized survivor and the one who should get to live vs revivebur who suffered deeply in limbo and in pogtopia but just because his behavior isn't as "digestible" as ghostbur's and he isn't as easy to handle or understand people think he should be replaced by his ghost and continue to suffer. when in reality neither ghostbur or alivebur deserve limbo, they're both c!wilbur despite the separation that's made between them. it's so fucked to me

[vampiricsheep]

glad about the new expac announcement so far! just uh. one thing making me really :/ and that's the combo of the "homesteader" title and the trailer preview for player housing opening with a Kodan saying 'I can't call this place home anymore...but maybe you can'

[darkwood-sleddog]

because i had to (politely) warn/criticize an acquaintance musher who was out on the trail in 86% humidity and 80F weather running their dogs on a rig when i was there today, i thought now was a good reminder that:

dogs do not cool down effectively when it is more humid

dogs that have previously suffered heat stroke are more at risk of developing it again and will do so more easily than a dog who has never had heat stroke. This ALONE is a great risk to sled dogs.

in the northern hemisphere a majority of dog heat stroke incidents take place in July (which is the month I'm writing this).

most mushers do not recommend running dogs in harness over 50F. No your dogs are likely not an exception. All dogs can develop heat stroke.

HERE is a post with a helpful chart from the Australia Sledding Sports Association about how to determine a safe combination of humidity and heat to run in. (it is in Celcius, but the combination of what we walked in today was easily a 26 on this chart.)

Some mushers CAN train dogs during the summer. Those that are in much more arctic conditions where early am may sometimes be frosty this time of year are clear to do so. Although the Mush with P.R.I.D.E. Sled Dog Welfare Guide has some warnings about the risks running dogs in hot weather poses. Their description of heat stroke even mentions snow which, yes, is true. Sled Dogs can easily overheat even in snowy conditions. Even then though, the summer mushers i see (who are in like...the Yukon...) are regularly monitoring temperatures and not running when it is above 50F.

and look. I've been at the receiving end of weather temperature criticism myself. I once ran Sigurd and Zombie on a like...60F degree evening in summer as a novice and my mentor tore me a new one. I felt bad (and cried lol), but it is what it is and i never did it again. It's also why working with and/or seeking advice from sport veterans is important. I will also never stall or refuse to tell somebody they're posing a risk to their dogs, not only bc i care for their animals well beings, but because mushers pushing dogs like this does reflect badly on the sport.

The one thing i do to make sure i'm aware of how hot my dogs may be besides monitoring the temperatures? I overdress whenever i take them out.

[crabussy]

I cried so hard while writing all of that. headache now. worth it. I'm so glad other people care about this just as much as I do. let's never give up hope ever

[seventh-district]

not even gonna tag this properly bc i don't wanna get Involved but i do have some Thoughts i need to get out into the void so here we go

(aaa quick edit: CW for mention/discussion of Boothill leaks)

[airenyah]

today in my thai class:

i blame @killiru. i know for a fact it's her fault <3

[davemustaine]

insane that when my coworkers and i say fuck the corporate playlist and then commandeer the aux.... that's the only time customers are like "omg the music in here is so good"

[buttercupshands]

Congratulations on nothing. I'm back to drawing LoV again after a bit of a break

those are mostly just a redraw practice for fun Toga is a try in "more canon way of drawing" with color practice too

I'm sorry that it's in russian because I have to have some will to localize jokes that came into my head while drawing it

it's like... a robot au??? or something, mostly just a joke "what if AFo just built Tenko and changed what he wanted"

and this is a joke about our 'favorite' 419 plot twist so it's basically just a bunch of joked about AFO failing to get any way to get control instead Tenko's head is not empty. It downloaded games, friends and stuff about being a hero but NOT as a literal hero, more on "villains need help I'm a hero then" way

and yes that text behind is "hands" written all over the place bc I wanted to add hands in handwritten form

[kairithemang0]

A silly little SK appreciation post (may or may not be silly and or little)

Wow, 15 years. One long time, isn't it? I feel like starkid has sorta become a personality trait of mine. I'm the "starkid obsessed" one in my friend group. I make it very very obvious that I adore this group, everything they've done. From the fandom least favorites, to their most adored shows, I love it all. I don't think I'd really be the same person without these shows. I feel like that's a really big thing to say about something I'm not a part of nor have I been in the fandom for too long (i mean 2 and a half years is kinda long?) but I do think I can say I wouldn't be the same. It's gotten me into musicals that aren't Hamilton, that's already a great thing they've done! I've met some of the most amazing people through this fandom, talking about the shows themselves, they've made me laugh, cry, and throw things at my wall more than most pieces of media ever could. I'm rewatching avpm and just finding myself feeling really nostalgia for that old starkid feel. I mean I'm SO excited for Cinderella's Castle, I think from a technical standpoint it'll be their best show yet, but that put together college vibe just hits something for me, I can't describe it. The poorly made sets, the cheap costumes, the fact it's so low quality just makes it a better experience. And the music from these shows is just spectacular! Starkid has some of the best composers ever, I don't know how they find such talent.

I feel that since Hatchetfield released, npmd especially, those older shows aren't as talked about. Which is fair, we may be running out of things to talk about, but I think just rewatching them is an experience. If you haven't gone back and seen starkids older shows, there's truly no better time to start than now. You won't regret it. The fact some of yall don't know the amazing talent of their older actors hurts my soul to think about, we need more appreciation for just all the actors that aren't in the Hatchetfield shows.

Anyways, long story short, starkid is amazing, it's changed my life for the better, I love you all members of SK (doubt any of them will see this but I'll say it anyways), something something fuck clivesdale, something something this is all jafar's fault, and it's been totally awesome :)

[the-acid-pear]

I hate vagueposting in fandom give me a direct link and a list of reasons why I'd be as upset as you

[thethingything]

I really don't like our brain's ability to jump from "I'm going to organise all this stuff and catch up with a bunch of tasks" to "it's time to get stuck in an increasingly distressing thought spiral for several hours, accidentally trigger yourself, then feel like shit because you haven't done anything but also haven't managed to rest".

like please can we maybe have like a nice middleground where we do a few things and then rest for a while and don't experience the full range of human emotions over the course of about 3 hours

[ms-hells-bells]

Have you seen the creepy video about Dalai Lama straight up kissing a boy? I hate men and religion so much

i am guessing it's that asian elder generation gap, some of the stuff the old folks in some countries there are like 'this is acceptable' is wild. but that doesn't make it okay, preventing the normalisation of violating children's boundaries as adults is so important in preventing sexual abuse.

but i don't think it was a case of intentional predation. kissing on the mouth in some cultures does not have sexual connotations. i have complicated feelings. many tibetans can be blinded because they see this man as a literal holy figure, and men have used that shield in many cultures and religions to abuse children. it is also easy to become highly defensive when it feels like the world is judging your cultural practices, right or wrong. but also, it is suspicious that this video blew up months after it was posted online, and it blew up shortly after the dalai lama announced a mongolian AMERICAN boy as the reincarnation of a buddhist figure, which was extremely strategic, because the last new figure the dalai lama announced was immediately abducted by the ccp and basically never seen again.

here's an article that shows the more tibetan side. though this doesn't change that 1. i'm anti religion and 2. i am anti men, or any adult, violating the boundaries of children just because they can. i think that's the case, even when much of the time, due to culture, the touching is not considered sexual in nature by either the adults or children (when they have grown up). bodily autonomy is key in raising a healthy, patriarchy, and hierarchy free community.

[princessefemmelesbian]

Just saw this on Quora and wtf:

I may not like Madoka Magica(and in fact anyone who follows me for long enough will know that I hate that anime with a burning passion), but even so that still doesn't make comments like this okay.

I am so tired of people acting like lesbianism(and non-straight identities in general but in this case we're talking about lesbians) is inherently sexual, deviant, and inappropriate. These are the same type of people who think that kids can't be gay or even be told about the possibility of homosexuality because it will groom their young minds or something, as if being gay is something you're groomed into being. And I am sick of people acting like a character can't be gay/lesbian because it doesn't fit their personality or because they're a child or because they're "innocent" or some stupid-ass shit like you're just reinforcing the idea that straight is the default and that straight is morally more pure and "normal" and acceptable than being gay. I bet Larry Koopa doesn't care if a kid the same age as or younger than Madoka(who is 14) is portrayed as straight, because to them that's not inherently sexual the way that being gay is. But a kid being gay? Now don't you think that's going a little bit too far?

This person definitely thinks that all lesbians are mean and hateful and bitter, probably because they measure a woman's level of decency in accordance to how attracted to men they are(which is how we got that ugly fucking "mean bisexual, even meaner lesbian" joke in the first place).

I agree with Peyton Peyons. Madoka is a lesbian, end of story, and nobody gives a shit whether you want to call her your waifu or not, because she doesn't even know you exist. Get out of her, dawg.

[gender-euphowrya]

my therapist telling me i'm his point of reference when he deals with other trans patients